IPMA Level D Project Management Flashcards

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IPMA ICB

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The IPMA Individual Competence Baseline (ICB) is a global standard that defines the competences required for project, programme, and portfolio management. It provides a framework for individual competence development applicable across sectors and supports certification, education, and HR activities.

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Eye of Competence

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The IPMA Eye of Competence categorizes competences into three domains: Perspective, People, and Practice. These domains collectively cover contextual, interpersonal, and technical skills needed for effective project delivery.

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Perspective Domain

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The Perspective domain addresses the project context, including strategy alignment, governance, compliance, and organizational culture. It emphasizes understanding how projects contribute to long-term goals and the external environment that shapes project decisions.

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Strategy Alignment

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Strategy alignment is the competence to ensure project goals support organizational strategy using performance management systems and metrics like critical success factors and KPIs. It involves identifying strategic opportunities and translating them into project objectives and controls.

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Governance

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Governance refers to the structures and processes that ensure projects are directed and controlled in line with organizational requirements and stakeholder expectations. It includes understanding roles such as PMOs and using feedback loops from previous projects to improve delivery.

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Compliance

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Compliance is the competence to apply relevant legal, health, safety, environmental, and professional standards within projects. It involves identifying applicable regulations, managing risks from non-compliance, and embedding standards into project processes.

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People Domain

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The People domain focuses on interpersonal competences such as communication, relationships, leadership, teamwork, and conflict management. It stresses that projects are driven by people and effective interpersonal skills are essential for success.

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Clear Communication

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Clear communication involves structuring and delivering information logically while verifying understanding with the receiver. Techniques include using accessible language, visual aids, and active listening to ensure messages are comprehended and acted upon.

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Open Communication

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Facilitating open communication means creating a respectful atmosphere for sharing ideas and feedback, encouraging participation, and clarifying understanding. It promotes psychological safety and improves team engagement and problem solving.

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Virtual Teams

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Effective communication with virtual teams requires using appropriate technologies, establishing clear processes, and maintaining cohesion despite physical distance. It involves explicit agreements on communication channels, norms, and expectations to prevent misunderstandings.

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Relationships

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Building relationships and engagement means proactively initiating contacts, facilitating social networks, and demonstrating empathy to foster collaboration. It includes encouraging sharing of views and communicating a motivating vision to secure commitment.

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Leadership

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Leadership in projects is guiding teams by adapting styles to context, motivating stakeholders, and taking responsibility for outcomes. Key behaviours include initiating action, providing direction, exerting influence appropriately, and making informed decisions with stakeholder involvement.

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Teamwork

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Teamwork competence covers selecting and building teams, promoting cooperation, supporting continuous development, and empowering members through delegation. It also involves learning from mistakes and managing team dynamics across the project lifecycle.

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Conflict Management

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Conflict and crisis management requires anticipating potential issues, analyzing causes, and choosing appropriate interventions such as collaboration, compromise, mediation, or escalation. Effective practice restores harmony and captures lessons to improve future performance.

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Conflict Stages

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Conflicts are described as emergent—where parties can still discuss solutions—or escalated—where emotional barriers hinder rational communication. Identifying the stage helps select resolution techniques and determine when to involve higher authority or mediators.

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Resourcefulness

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Resourcefulness is the ability to creatively solve problems and handle uncertainty using analytical and conceptual techniques. It promotes a culture of innovation, prioritization, and pragmatic solution generation to keep projects moving forward.

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Cultural Awareness

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Cultural awareness is recognizing how organizational and societal values influence project behaviors and stakeholder expectations. It enables adaptation of communication and management approaches to align with diverse cultural norms and improve acceptance.

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Benchmarking

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Benchmarking in project management is a continuous improvement practice that compares organizational processes and performance against recognized best practices. It uses internal and external comparisons to identify gaps and drive alignment with strategic goals.

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Project Definition

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A project is defined as a unique, temporary endeavor with specific outcomes delivered within constraints like time and budget. It is a temporary organization with roles and culture designed to achieve defined objectives under uncertainty.

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Program

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A program is a collection of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually. It typically has a larger scope, longer duration, and greater complexity than individual projects.

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Project Lifecycle

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The project lifecycle comprises phases such as initiation, planning, execution/coordination, controlling, and close-down, with pre- and post-project activities considered. Each sub-process has specific objectives and deliverables to guide project progression.

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Business Case

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A business case provides the economic and strategic justification for a project, evaluating costs, benefits, and alternatives throughout the project lifecycle. It supports decision-making from idea to end of use and may use financial measures such as break-even or net present value analyses.

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Organization Forms

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Project organization forms include influence, matrix, and pure project structures, each providing different levels of authority and resource allocation. Choice of form affects decision rights, reporting lines, and the balance between line and project managers.

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Project Roles

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Project roles clarify responsibilities and expectations across the team, including sponsors, project managers, and team members. Well-defined roles improve communication, accountability, and coordination throughout the project.

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Work Breakdown

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A work breakdown structure (WBS) decomposes project deliverables into manageable work packages to support planning, scheduling, and assignment. It provides the basis for estimating effort, cost, and sequencing activities.

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Risk Management

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Risk management involves identifying, assessing, and responding to uncertainties that may affect project objectives. It includes proactive measures to reduce likelihood or impact and contingency plans to handle realized risks.

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Procurement

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Procurement covers acquiring goods and services from external suppliers, involving make-or-buy analysis, tendering, contracting, and supplier management. Effective procurement planning reduces cost and schedule risk associated with external dependencies.

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To-Do List

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To-do lists are operational tools for tracking actions related to work packages, assigning responsibilities and deadlines. They help ensure accountability and visibility of short-term tasks within the project plan.

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Meeting Minutes

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Meeting minutes document outcomes, agreements, decisions, and next steps from meetings, typically listing participants, objectives, and responsibilities. Standardized minutes improve traceability and follow-up on agreed actions.

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Acceptance Protocol

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An acceptance protocol formalizes the completion and handover of work packages, releasing responsible parties from their assigned tasks. It records criteria met, approvals, and any residual obligations.

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Variance Analysis

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Variance analysis compares actual project performance against planned values to identify deviations and trigger corrective measures. It is a fundamental controlling technique to maintain schedule, cost, and scope alignment.

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Project Scorecard

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A project scorecard visualizes project status using predefined criteria and often a traffic-light system to indicate performance levels. It supports transparent reporting and quick interpretation by stakeholders.

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Milestone Trend

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Milestone trend analysis tracks milestone dates over reporting periods to reveal schedule slippage or improvement trends. It helps visualize project schedule health and predict likely future states.

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Project Marketing

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Project marketing communicates the project's purpose, benefits, and progress to stakeholders, distinguishing between object-related and process-related promotion. It builds acceptance and supports stakeholder engagement throughout the lifecycle.

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Crisis Management

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Crisis management involves rapid assessment of causes and impacts when unexpected adverse events occur, followed by decisive actions to stabilize the situation. It includes scenario analysis, root cause investigations, and communication strategies to restore control.

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Project Close-Down

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Project close-down finalizes agreements, hands over deliverables to users, documents lessons learned, and disbands the project team. It ensures organizational learning and proper transition to operations or subsequent projects.

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SMART

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SMART is a criteria set for defining clear objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timed. Applying SMART improves goal clarity, measurability, and accountability in project planning.

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Project Charter

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The project charter (or project assignment) is the formal document that authorizes the project, defines initial objectives, scope, and stakeholders, and documents agreed responsibilities. It serves as the baseline for project initiation and is typically signed by the sponsor and project manager.

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Magic Triangle

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The magic triangle refers to the core constraints of project management: scope, time, and cost (often complemented by quality). Balancing these competing constraints is central to achieving project objectives and stakeholder satisfaction.

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Kick-off Meeting

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A kick-off meeting is the initial formal event that launches the project, aligns stakeholders on objectives, roles, and plans, and establishes team norms. It helps create a shared project culture and clarifies immediate next steps.

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Big Project Picture

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The 'Big Project Picture' is a holistic overview that captures project context, main deliverables, major milestones, and critical interfaces. It supports stakeholder understanding and guides detailed planning by framing priorities and dependencies.

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Lessons Learned

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Lessons learned are documented insights from project experiences that identify what worked well and what should change. Capturing and sharing these lessons supports continuous improvement and better outcomes in subsequent projects.